24.10.2022

Five ways for employers to help people find lost or forgotten pension money

As winter approaches and employees experience the financial impact of rising energy bills and the cost of living crisis, Punter Southall Aspire, the firm behind National Pension Tracing Day offers employers five ways to help their workers trace lost or forgotten pensions.

Punter Southall Aspire recommends employers share five easy steps with their employees to help them trace lost or forgotten pensions:

Step 4 – Mind the gap – If people spot any gaps in their pension history it’s time for some detective work. For jobs where they don’t have a pension statement, try to find contact details for the pension provider or administrator. They could contact the employer’s HR department directly, or use the government’s Pension Tracing Service.

If old employers can’t be found, they may have changed their name or merged with another organisation. Try searching Companies House – it lists companies’ previous names with their current registered office address. If people worked for a charity, they could search the Charities Register.

Step 5 – Get in touch – Get in touch with the provider or administrator and check if they’ve got any record of a pension. People will need to prove who they are so will need their National Insurance number and possibly other details. It’s also worth asking them to check if they did have a pension with them but transferred it elsewhere.

Not everyone will find a pension, but for those that do the final part of the treasure hunt is:

find out how much is in the pot and ask for an up-to-date statement
give them up-to-date contact details so the provider can keep in touch in future
ask if they can be registered to access the pension information online
Celebrate! They have found lost treasure they had forgotten all about

Punter Southall Aspire has also created a free communications toolkit for employers and Trustees, which includes a set of ‘ready to go’ communications including posters, intranet banners, news article, an email campaign, a pension tracing checklist, a step-by-step video and much more.

Alan Morahan, Chief Commercial Officer, said: “Supporting employees with financial education and advice is vital as the cost of living crisis starts to impact people’s pockets. A quick easy win is to encourage employees to track down a lost or forgotten pension, it could make the world of difference to their retirement plans.”

Johanna Nelson, Communications Director, Punter Southall Aspire, added: “As many as one in 30 people could have a pension they didn’t know about or had forgotten they had. Supporting the Great Pension Treasure Hunt could help your staff find money they never knew existed which could be life changing.”